Cop hailed by Ben Gvir after throwing stun grenade at protesters set for promotion
Meir Suissa to receive rank of chief superintendent, command south Tel Aviv police station pending approval from minister, who praised his crackdown on 2023 anti-overhaul protests
A Tel Aviv police officer who was investigated for throwing stun grenades at anti-government protesters last year was slated on Tuesday to receive a promotion and be given command of a police station in the southern part of the city.
In addition to the stun grenade incident in March 2023, Superintendent Meir Suissa was investigated for assault after he shoved protesters, causing one of them to fall onto the road, outside the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv two days after the ongoing Israel-Hamas war broke out.
Nevertheless, Hebrew media outlets reported Tuesday that Suissa’s promotion to chief superintendent has already been approved by Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, and awaits a final OK from far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who defended the officer’s actions last year.
“Suissa is a high-quality and professional officer,” a senior police official told the Ynet news site. “It’s possible to argue about the way he handles things, but he is a charismatic person whose orders people follow. He is most deserving and his promotion was expected.”
Suissa hurled the grenade into the crowd during massive “day of disruption” protests against the government’s judicial overhaul on March 1, 2023, and as Ben Gvir pushed police to respond to protests more aggressively.
The police’s use of stun grenades and water cannons against the protests was seen as a significant ramping up of crowd dispersal tactics.
הסרט מדבר בעד עצמו. מפקד בשטח מאיר סויסה זורק רימון הלם לעבר הקהל. מטורף! pic.twitter.com/w4nSHAOvd0
— שלומי אלגוסי (@lgwsy) March 1, 2023
The Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department investigated the incident and questioned Suissa and five others for their handling of the protests, but closed the case against them in August.
Suissa told investigators that he used the stun grenade because the situation was “getting out of control.”
“There was an instruction that allowed the use of stun grenades. I threw two or three grenades and made sure I threw them in an open area. I saw that the grenade didn’t harm any demonstrator. I was calm. The goal was to complete the event without injuries,” he told investigators, Ynet reported.
Ben Gvir later commended Suissa’s conduct and condemned the Police Internal Investigations Department for investigating the incident.
The Lev Tel Aviv Police Station in the center of the city subsequently chose Suissa as the station’s outstanding officer, and he was awarded a certificate at a police event ahead of Independence Day last year.
